The death of people. The death of relationships. Yes, my current sensitivity was probably the direct result of pregnancy hormones, coupled with the humiliation of my credit card problem, but still.
Taking one last deep breath, I exited the car and gently closed the door. Two minutes ago, I might have slammed it shut, but my sudden kinship with my broken-down vehicle meant that I had to be compassionate.
I patted the hood. “Sorry.”
It was tempting to call Rush, but I stopped myself. It was imperative that I got used to doing things for myself and for my baby. That didn’t include jumping to call Rush the second something went wrong.
So I began the long trek home by foot. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too hot, or else I would’ve worried about overheating in my condition. But it was just perfect, cool with a slight breeze.
An hour later, I was still walking, the bottoms of my feet sore and tired. Even my Tieks flats, which were super comfortable, couldn’t protect me from succumbing to the harsh pavement.
At one point, a vague sense that someone was following me registered.
When I looked to my side, Rush’s Mustang was slowly moving alongside me, just like he used to do in the early days of driving me home from The Heights.
He rolled down the window. “Why are you walking along this road, Gia?”
I was still moving as I answered him, “My car broke down.”
He nudged his head. “Get in.”
Picking up my pace a little, I walked backwards and said, “I don’t want to, Rush. I’m trying to handle things as I would if I were living alone in the City, and you wouldn’t be around to pick me up. So I’d like to walk.”
“Gia…”
“Yeah?”
“Get the fuck in the car.”
Well, I suppose I could blame my feet. They were practically crying for me to stop. Okay, I did really want to get in.
I shrugged and opened his passenger side door.
“Thanks,” I said.
He placed his hand on my knee. “You crazy girl. You should’ve called me.” My body immediately reacted to his touch. God, his hand felt good. Move it just a little to the right.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” I said.
“You should know that’s not a good enough excuse and that I would drop everything to pick you up.”
“I know you would. But that wasn’t the point.”
“The point was stupid.”
I didn’t want to argue with him. “Okay. Well, thank you for the ride.”
He glanced over at me and lifted his brow. “Where were you coming from?”
“I was trying on clothes at the maternity store.”
“Just trying them on?”
“Yes. I didn’t buy anything.”
“Why not?”
I didn’t want to tell him the truth, but I couldn’t lie. “My card was declined.”
His expression dampened. “I see.”
I sighed. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Well, I’m mad that you didn’t invite me to come watch you try them on, to be honest.” He flashed me a sexy smirk. One little look from Rush always went straight between my legs.
I turned my body toward him and lowered my voice. “You know, I was thinking of you when I was in the dressing room.”
He smiled mischievously. “Oh, now this is a story I want to hear.”
“I was thinking about how good you always make me feel about my body. The only reason I feel sexy right now is because of you. When I look at myself, I hear your voice telling me how hot I am.”
“I don’t do it to make you feel good. I do it because I genuinely love your body. If it makes you feel good, though, then that’s an added benefit.” He exhaled, his voice sounding needy. “So tell me about this trying on stuff. Were your tits bare?”
“No.”
“Damn.”
“But they were busting out of my bra, which is now too tight.”
“So are my pants now.” He groaned then glanced down at his crotch. “Thanks a lot.”
“You’re hopeless,” I laughed, secretly loving that I was turning him on with my words.
“Will you let me watch next time?”
My body was heating up. “Are you serious?”
“Look fucking down. Do I look like I’m kidding?”
I laughed. “No, you don’t.”
“Okay, then. Next time you go clothes shopping, I wanna come.”
Hearing him say he wanted to come made me have to clench between my legs.
When we arrived at my house, I turned to him after he shut the car off. “Did you want to come in?”
“Actually, I have to get back to The Heights. I have a lot of end-of-the-season stuff I’ve gotta get done.”
I swallowed in disappointment. The old Rush would have taken any opportunity to jump my bones after the foreplay of our sexy conversation.
I simply nodded and exited the car.
He suddenly walked to the back of the vehicle and opened his trunk.
Rush took out three shopping bags. I recognized the name of the maternity shop on them.
Squinting my eyes in confusion, I asked, “What are those?”
“Your clothes. The ones you couldn’t buy.”
Pointing my index finger back and forth, I frowned. “How did you…”
“I didn’t find you by chance. Naomi called me after you left and told me what happened. She said I might want to come and pay for my girl’s stuff because she left upset after her credit card was declined.”
I covered my mouth. “Oh my God. I can’t believe she did that.”
“I saw your piece of shit car still parked there and wondered if it had given you trouble. After that, sure enough, I found you walking along the road.”
I looked through the bags. There were a ton of clothes. “I only had a few items I was going to buy.
What the heck did you get?”
“I told her to give me everything she had in your size.”
My mouth fell open. “I can’t accept this, Rush.”
“Yes, you can and you will.”
“No.”
“Gia…I’m not taking anything back. I like supporting local businesses. And if you don’t wear this stuff…I will.”
What?
Did he just say what I thought he did?
Bending my head back, I laughed at the ridiculousness of that thought. “You’re gonna wear the clothes…”
He scratched his chin. “If you refuse them? Sure.”
“Well, that’s reason enough not to take them.” I started walking back to my door, leaving the bags on the ground.
When I turned around, Rush had lifted off his shirt. I gasped inwardly at the sight of his cut chest.
It had been a while since I’d seen it bare, and I swear, he looked hotter than ever.
Rush bent down and took the first thing he grabbed out of the bag. It was a pink, floral top. After examining it like he didn’t know what hole to put his head through, he slipped it on. He then unzipped his jeans and kicked them off. I gawked at his muscular legs before he covered them with one of the maternity skirts.
With his hands on his hips, he winked. “How do you like me now?”
I love you.
I absolutely freaking love you.
The sight of this big, beautiful, tattooed man in that feminine ensemble was truly something.
“Only you could still look sexy in a pregnant woman’s outfit.”
“Don’t make me have to walk into The Heights like this. Put me out of my misery.”
My mouth hurt from smiling. “Okay, I’ll keep the clothes.”
15
How many times was I gonna fix this crap car? I’d been under its fucking hood more than I’d been under Gia.
The day after I picked her up on the side of the road, I’d gone back to where it was parked in front of the maternity shop to try to get it running again.
At this point, getting it to run was like a battle against an enemy, and there was no way I was going to let this piece of junk win. I think fixing it repeatedly was like a challenge to me. That had to be the only reason I continued to mess with it, especially when it would have been much easier to just replace it.